Artwork / Archives / 2004 / Jessica Rabbit

painted portrait of white woman
Gwenn Seemel
Jessica Rabbit
2004
acrylic on canvas
29 x 21 inches

The face is the location of identity, of personality, of self. What happens in the face of an actor when they are in character? Who is that face? The current incarnation of the character? Or the current incarnation of the actor?

This portrait along with six others portray the cast of Trickster Tells This Story, a devised theater piece which revolves around the stories of the trickster characters of the mythologies of seven cultures. Trickster Project, the portrait series, was part of the set of the theater piece which was presented at the Back Door Theater in February 2004.

The series includes Br’er Rabbit from African American folktales, the Arabian Nasrudin, the Native American Coyote, the Asian Monkey, the Russian Fox, the South American tortoise Jabuti, and the Norse god Loki.